Photoshow Deluxe 5 - Originally Simplestar Purchase

Before I open, update, and go through a lot trying to continue creating slideshows and burning them to DVD, I figured it might be prudent to ask a few questions here first. I donít know but maybe I'll need to contact support.

I initially purchased Photoshow Deluxe 4, the DVD Burning add-on, and all available Theme packs three years ago directly from SimpleStar. (Well, actually I first owned the so-called "Elite" version from Nero, which turned out NOT to be very elite at all!) Phtotshow Deluxe 4 worked very well for me, and in Feb. 2007 I upgraded to Photoshow Deluxe 5 and purchased another Theme pack which had been added. So I now own Photoshow Deluxe 5, the DVD Burning add-on, and all Theme packs available. I haven't used the program much, though, since Roxio purchased SimpleStar. Roxio was pushing out unannounced updates and there was no "changes" page where I could see what the update did. At the same time there were several threads from users in similar situations who could no longer burn DVD's with their SimpleStar software. So I decided to just shut it down here and wait to see what was happening with it.

Today I received an email from Roxio that said former SimpleStar users had to "renew" their Premium subscriptions. Yikes! I thought at first that the message was that I could no longer use my Photoshow Deluxe unless I paid a ransom to Roxio. Turns out that message is for, I believe, users who had purchased an annual subscription for online features from Simplestar. I never subscribed to that service, so hopefully I am not affected by the renewal notice.

What I would like to know is the following:

Can I use my current version of Photoshow Deluxe 5 and all the Theme packs along with the DVD Burning Add-on? Without a subscription to Roxio Online?

If so, is there any further action I must take to be able to use it? (E.g., different serial number, download anything else?)

If not, why not? What is required for me to again use my Photoshow Deluxe 5, DVD Add-on, and Theme Packs?

Finally, is a subscription to Roxio Online required in order to use any of the features of Photoshow Deluxe or its add-ons? Nothing against Roxio's annual subscription plan, but I just donít use the online sharing features; I didn't use them with SimpleStar either.

Sounds good, malatekid. The reason I stopped for a while was that the situation was in flux during the ownership switch from SimpleStar to Roxio. At that time no one here in the forum seemed to have a decent handle on what was going on, how the software would change, etc. Plus there seemed to be a fair number of users who could no longer burn DVDs after the automatic Updates from Roxio had been applied.

As I mentioned in my first post above, rather than fight with it at all, I decided to block the update for the time being until everything shook out; until the future of the application was a little clearer to me.

I figured that things had probably been resolved one way or another by now and that I would check in and see whether I still had an excellent slideshow application, or it had been changed beyond what I would care to use.

Photoshow Deluxe 5 was released in February 2007 by SimpleStar, the company that Roxio acquired. If Roxio isn't offering it - and I can't think of any reason that they would considering that they have created a wholly different business model for the software - then it is probably not available anywhere.

Hmm... I take that back - looks like a seller at Amazon Marketplace has a boxed version for sale. Though I donít think you would be able to register it.

I'm not sure if you received any answers to your questions, but I will let you know what I have discovered since I have been with them since 2006. I also tried PhotoShow 4 and purchased the PhotoShow 5 from Simple Star and never signed up to pay a yearly fee to be able to email my PhotoShows. But when Roxio acquired Simple Star, they tacked on the yearly fee to us past owners. If you want to email Photo Shows or if you want to add more than 24 pictures to your photo show you have to pay the yearly fee - PLAIN AND SIMPLE. It is kind of a rip off but they are the new owners, so I paid the fee and everything is going somewhat ok - Except their Customer Service Dept.

I wouldn't mind if they were customer service friendly. I emailed them Nov. 11 about trying to import Photo Shows into my PhotoShow file and to this day have not heard back from them. I have emailed them three more times since Nov 11, but still no answers. And RoxAnn is definitely no help! There is no way to call anyone and just ask questions unless you pay by the minute.

There should be an easier way to contact their Customer Service Dept just for questions. Good luck. I still love making PhotoShows and emailing them to Friends and Family. I'm also adding my own music now, but you can't send a PhotoShow with your added music. However, you can make a DVD of the PhotoShow with your own music. It's fun to add your own music instead of just what they have to offer us.

I'm not sure if you received any answers to your questions, but I will let you know what I have discovered since I have been with them since 2006. I also tried PhotoShow 4 and purchased the PhotoShow 5 from Simple Star and never signed up to pay a yearly fee to be able to email my PhotoShows. But when Roxio acquired Simple Star, they tacked on the yearly fee to us past owners. If you want to email Photo Shows or if you want to add more than 24 pictures to your photo show you have to pay the yearly fee - PLAIN AND SIMPLE. It is kind of a rip off but they are the new owners, so I paid the fee and everything is going somewhat ok - Except their Customer Service Dept.

I wouldn't mind if they were customer service friendly. I emailed them Nov. 11 about trying to import Photo Shows into my PhotoShow file and to this day have not heard back from them. I have emailed them three more times since Nov 11, but still no answers. And RoxAnn is definitely no help! There is no way to call anyone and just ask questions unless you pay by the minute.

There should be an easier way to contact their Customer Service Dept just for questions. Good luck. I still love making PhotoShows and emailing them to Friends and Family. I'm also adding my own music now, but you can't send a PhotoShow with your added music. However, you can make a DVD of the PhotoShow with your own music. It's fun to add your own music instead of just what they have to offer us.

Good Luck,

Mary Jane

Mary Jane,

Thank you for this very informative reply. No, no one did explain any of that to me. And that includes the one that replied to me earlier, purporting to know it all about this. He/she said:

QUOTE

I just checked my PhotoShow 5 and it does not appear affected in any way by the new Roxio PhotoShow Online.

And you say that I cannot email shows? Nor add more than 24 photos? One of you is wrong, it would seem. I can burn them to DVD - can't imagine why emailing that file wouldn't work. And the limit of 24 photos? I haven't seen that. I'll have to try it again now. I'll post back after I try a few of these things.

Before I open, update, and go through a lot trying to continue creating slideshows and burning them to DVD, I figured it might be prudent to ask a few questions here first. I donít know but maybe I'll need to contact support.

I initially purchased Photoshow Deluxe 4, the DVD Burning add-on, and all available Theme packs three years ago directly from SimpleStar. (Well, actually I first owned the so-called "Elite" version from Nero, which turned out NOT to be very elite at all!) Phtotshow Deluxe 4 worked very well for me, and in Feb. 2007 I upgraded to Photoshow Deluxe 5 and purchased another Theme pack which had been added. So I now own Photoshow Deluxe 5, the DVD Burning add-on, and all Theme packs available. I haven't used the program much, though, since Roxio purchased SimpleStar. Roxio was pushing out unannounced updates and there was no "changes" page where I could see what the update did. At the same time there were several threads from users in similar situations who could no longer burn DVD's with their SimpleStar software. So I decided to just shut it down here and wait to see what was happening with it.

Today I received an email from Roxio that said former SimpleStar users had to "renew" their Premium subscriptions. Yikes! I thought at first that the message was that I could no longer use my Photoshow Deluxe unless I paid a ransom to Roxio. Turns out that message is for, I believe, users who had purchased an annual subscription for online features from Simplestar. I never subscribed to that service, so hopefully I am not affected by the renewal notice.

What I would like to know is the following:

Can I use my current version of Photoshow Deluxe 5 and all the Theme packs along with the DVD Burning Add-on? Without a subscription to Roxio Online?

If so, is there any further action I must take to be able to use it? (E.g., different serial number, download anything else?)

If not, why not? What is required for me to again use my Photoshow Deluxe 5, DVD Add-on, and Theme Packs?

Finally, is a subscription to Roxio Online required in order to use any of the features of Photoshow Deluxe or its add-ons? Nothing against Roxio's annual subscription plan, but I just donít use the online sharing features; I didn't use them with SimpleStar either.

Thanks for any and all assistance you can offer!

Jim

when I use the old photoshow5 i am able to download shows I have sent myself without the error message that says photohow cannot reach the servers on the internet.

When I use photoshow ONLINE and do editing and save it, I get your error message about cant access pc from internet after file saved in changed format....So i guess it is saying that the new Roxio online software is incompatible with the old software of photoshow 5 deluxe.So I guess you can play it to download it. But do NOT edit it. Afterwards you cannot bring it back down to the old software. You have one year subscription using old software. Then you cannot post online after that, but you can still burn dvds.

when I use the old photoshow5 i am able to download shows I have sent myself without the error message that says photohow cannot reach the servers on the internet.

When I use photoshow ONLINE and do editing and save it, I get your error message about cant access pc from internet after file saved in changed format....So i guess it is saying that the new Roxio online software is incompatible with the old software of photoshow 5 deluxe.So I guess you can play it to download it. But do NOT edit it. Afterwards you cannot bring it back down to the old software. You have one year subscription using old software. Then you cannot post online after that, but you can still burn dvds.

Understand, I have no desire to use the Roxio online junk - none at all. All I wanted to do was to continue using Photoshow Deluxe as I always had: Creating slideshows, sending them to family members, posting them online at one of my own web pages.

As for Roxio's online subscription, no thanks. Donít want any part of it.

I am just ditching Photoshow altogether. Roxio apparently has messed it up, as they have with most products they have acquired.

Before I open, update, and go through a lot trying to continue creating slideshows and burning them to DVD, I figured it might be prudent to ask a few questions here first. I donít know but maybe I'll need to contact support.

I initially purchased Photoshow Deluxe 4, the DVD Burning add-on, and all available Theme packs three years ago directly from SimpleStar. (Well, actually I first owned the so-called "Elite" version from Nero, which turned out NOT to be very elite at all!) Phtotshow Deluxe 4 worked very well for me, and in Feb. 2007 I upgraded to Photoshow Deluxe 5 and purchased another Theme pack which had been added. So I now own Photoshow Deluxe 5, the DVD Burning add-on, and all Theme packs available. I haven't used the program much, though, since Roxio purchased SimpleStar. Roxio was pushing out unannounced updates and there was no "changes" page where I could see what the update did. At the same time there were several threads from users in similar situations who could no longer burn DVD's with their SimpleStar software. So I decided to just shut it down here and wait to see what was happening with it.

Today I received an email from Roxio that said former SimpleStar users had to "renew" their Premium subscriptions. Yikes! I thought at first that the message was that I could no longer use my Photoshow Deluxe unless I paid a ransom to Roxio. Turns out that message is for, I believe, users who had purchased an annual subscription for online features from Simplestar. I never subscribed to that service, so hopefully I am not affected by the renewal notice.

What I would like to know is the following:

Can I use my current version of Photoshow Deluxe 5 and all the Theme packs along with the DVD Burning Add-on? Without a subscription to Roxio Online?

If so, is there any further action I must take to be able to use it? (E.g., different serial number, download anything else?)

If not, why not? What is required for me to again use my Photoshow Deluxe 5, DVD Add-on, and Theme Packs?

Finally, is a subscription to Roxio Online required in order to use any of the features of Photoshow Deluxe or its add-ons? Nothing against Roxio's annual subscription plan, but I just donít use the online sharing features; I didn't use them with SimpleStar either.

Thanks for any and all assistance you can offer!

Jim

I, too had Nero Photoshow Delux 4 and I worked well with it, downloaded the themes as you did, then I changed my computer and this particular programme was no longer compatable with Vista, so I bought Roxio 2009, like you I was asked for a subscription which I did because I wished to use animation, let me warn you Jim, you can only play one music track on your photoshow with Premium, so I have paid twice for theme packs.......I can not use with varied music

I, too had Nero Photoshow Delux 4 and I worked well with it, downloaded the themes as you did, then I changed my computer and this particular programme was no longer compatable with Vista, so I bought Roxio 2009, like you I was asked for a subscription which I did because I wished to use animation, let me warn you Jim, you can only play one music track on your photoshow with Premium, so I have paid twice for theme packs.......I can not use with varied music

I still don't know what's going on. Will somebody please explain how Nero fits.... or fitted... into all this?Is Nero at loggerheads with Sonic or whoever developed and owns PhotoShow? They just claim that based on user surveys they will no longer be selling PhotoShow. I can't believe that. PhotoShow is a brilliant program. No user would tell them that. Also, they don't say that it is available elsewhere.

I still don't know what's going on. Will somebody please explain how Nero fits.... or fitted... into all this?Is Nero at loggerheads with Sonic or whoever developed and owns PhotoShow? They just claim that based on user surveys they will no longer be selling PhotoShow. I can't believe that. PhotoShow is a brilliant program. No user would tell them that. Also, they don't say that it is available elsewhere.

David

As far as I am aware Nero sold Photoshow to Roxio, Nero used Simple Star for you to purchase extra animations to use in Photoshow, however Roxio, it appears, doesn't deal with Simplestar, therefore any theme packs purchased as I have done, can't be downloaded into the Roxio Photoshow, I agree, Photoshow, 4 and 5, are brilliant programmes but I think the customer has been left in the cold when it comes to merchadise?

I got an update from Roxio which I should not have loaded into my computer. Since I did I have trouble. They have loaded something that causes my program not to work like it use to. Trying to find out about the yearly thing to see if it will allow my photoshow to work like it use to.

4 years ago I purchased Photoshow 5, It was the best. I found it better then 6 or creator 2012. My computor crashed recently and I lost the Photoshow 5
installation. I wonder, can anyonr out there help me find where I can Re-Downlod the photoshow 5, again.

4 years ago I purchased Photoshow 5, It was the best. I found it better then 6 or creator 2012. My computor crashed recently and I lost the Photoshow 5installation. I wonder, can anyonr out there help me find where I can Re-Downlod the photoshow 5, again.

Thank you

barbieri,

Wow! I started this thread five years ago and still getting posts!

To be honest I have used this since Roxio purchased the program from SilverStar.

Jim

Edited by cdanteek, 14 August 2013 - 05:31 AM.removed link to other software